Employee fired for fending off a robber with a gun. I won't be shopping at Autozone any more. These "zero tolerance" firings are ridiculous, and we as customers need to stand up for common sense. I'm voting with my feet.

An AutoZone worker who stopped an armed robbery by retrieving a weapon from his truck said he was fired by the company for violating their gun policy.
Devin McLean and his store manager were about to close the AutoZone in York County, Va. when a gunman barged into the store.
“He pulled a gun from his waist band and demanded me and my manager go back into the office,” McLean told Fox News.
At some point, McLean was left in a restroom while the gunman made the manager open the store safe. That’s when McLean, a 23-year-old Air Force veteran, bolted through a side door and ran to his truck.
He returned through the front door holding a Glock 40 – pointed directly at the masked robber.
“I told him to freeze and to drop his weapon,” McLean told Fox News.
Instead, the robber took off – last seen running down the street from the store.
“I watched him run down the street,” he said. “I came back inside and made sure my manager was okay and he called the police.”
The York County Sheriff’s Dept. believes the bandit is responsible for as many as 30 robberies across the region.
“One of the officers asked why I didn’t shoot the robber,” McLean said.
Sheriff J.D. Diggs told Fox News he considers McLean to be a hero.
“He did a very brave thing,” the sheriff said. “He put himself in jeopardy in an attempt to make sure his friend was safe. He did a very brave thing.”
The part-time worker’s manager was especially thankful and credited McLean with saving his life.
But two days after the robbery – and just a week before Thanksgiving – McLean was fired.Television station WTKR reported that McLean violated corporate policy by leaving the store and returning with a weapon.
The station spoke to a representative from the company’s corporate office who said they had a “zero tolerance policy for employees having weapons inside the store.”
An AutoZone spokesman told Fox News they will not discuss the matter.
“It was a surprise to me,” McLean said. “I did the right thing. I saved the company $2,000. I saved one of their manager’s lives – and you’re letting me go? It was a slap in the face.”
McLean said the firing came at a difficult time. He’s about to be a first-time father.
“We’re having a little boy,” he said. “I remember when the guy came in with that gun. My initial thought was I want to make it home to my family. I want to have the opportunity to meet my son and for my son to meet his dad. And for someone to come in and shove a gun in your face?”
So why not just keep running? Why go back inside the store – and risk your own life?
“I regard them as my family,” McLean said of his co-workers. “You’re not going to leave your brother or sister behind.”
It’s a lesson he learned in the Air Force.
“Never leave a man behind,” he said. “I’m not going to leave my brother in a room with a guy with a gun – that’s threatening his life.”
In spite of losing his job, McLean said his actions would be the same if it happened again.
“I wouldn’t change anything,” he said.
The sheriff said he was disappointed to hear that McLean lost his job on account of stopping the robbery.
“That’s certainly unfortunate,” he said. “They should be doing something to reward that young man instead of firing him.”
Sheriff Diggs said AutoZone has also sent an unintended message to the community.
“The company has now sent a message to every would-be robber out there – ‘Hey we’re open for business and unarmed. Come on in and take our money,’” he said.
Meanwhile, the backlash against AutoZone is spreading. Cam Edwards, of NRA News, called AutoZone’s decision an “injustice.”
“It may have been corporate policy to fire Devin McLean, but it’s also an injustice. He came to the aid of a fellow employee threatened by an armed robber and was canned. They should have named him employee of the year.”
He said the nation needs more people like McLean.
“He had the chance to run away but instead he chose to arm himself with his legally owned gun and save the life of his supervisor,” Edwards told Fox News. “Wouldn’t we all like to work with someone like Devin?”
Customers have launched a boycott against the company on Facebook and apetition has been started urging them to rehire McLean.
“There’s a Pep Boys right around the corner,” one irate customer wrote on Facebook.

Here's a "small world" moment. I went to the facebook boycott page linked at the bottom of the ariticle to put my two cents in. One of the most recent posts on that page was from somone with my exact name -- and it had been done one minute earlier. What are the odds that two people with the same name would find their way to that boycott page within one minute?? Wow.

Here's a "small world" moment. I went to the facebook boycott page linked at the bottom of the ariticle to put my two cents in. One of the most recent posts on that page was from somone with my exact name -- and it had been done one minute earlier. What are the odds that two people with the same name would find their way to that boycott page within one minute?? Wow.

Tex we know you are getting old...are you sure you didn't post one minute earlier and just forgot???

So to be serious for a moment. I have to side with the company on this one. While I see exactly why the guy did what he did and was moraly correct in what he did, autozone is a huge company with many many stores and many employees to protect. The vast majority of stick ups end with only loss of property until someone chalenges the robber. This story could have ended quite differently with the robber shooting the manager and or this guy. Who would be the hero then. The police said that this guy had robbed 30 other places, but they did not say he killed anyone durring any of those robberies, a fact that certainly would have been mentioned if it had happened. This guy could have run to his car and called police. He could have then followed the guy and pointed him out to police. Of course hindsight is 20/20 so who knows for sure what any of us would have actualy done.

For breaking corporate policy he deserved to get fired and for being brave and loyal to his manager he deserves to get quietly rehired and given a big raise. Otherwise he should head on down to O'Riely's and tell them the story....I am sure he would be hired in a flash.

I would be curious to find out what would have actually happened if the guy ended up shooting the robber. Would it be looked at differently seeing as how he ran out to get the gun and didn't actually have it on him? I know the story would be self defense but is it really that if you have time to run away. That could turn into a big mess for Auto Zone and the shooter.

I would be curious to find out what would have actually happened if the guy ended up shooting the robber. Would it be looked at differently seeing as how he ran out to get the gun and didn't actually have it on him? I know the story would be self defense but is it really that if you have time to run away. That could turn into a big mess for Auto Zone and the shooter.

That is a good point. And what if he fired and missed the robber and hit the manager? I certainly would not want my employees walking around with guns, just for the liability issue alone.

That is a good point. And what if he fired and missed the robber and hit the manager? I certainly would not want my employees walking around with guns, just for the liability issue alone.

And it may very well be that he actually saved the manager's life. It's entirely possible that the robber intended to leave no witnesses. As far as siding with Autozone, I understand the concept. But what I am against is the mindless zero tolerance system. Any time there is a rule, there might be a time when breaking the rule makes every sense. There should be a review panel at every company that has this kind of rule that can review the circumstances of the broken rule and use their common sense to determine if the end justified the means. In this case, I think any panel in the country would rule not to fire this guy, and most likely give him some recognition. It's actually running scared from the legal system to set up a zero tolerance rule that you can quote when you have something bad happen. Then you don't have to be second guessed on your response, even if the response is morally wrong.

And it may very well be that he actually saved the manager's life. It's entirely possible that the robber intended to leave no witnesses. As far as siding with Autozone, I understand the concept. But what I am against is the mindless zero tolerance system. Any time there is a rule, there might be a time when breaking the rule makes every sense. There should be a review panel at every company that has this kind of rule that can review the circumstances of the broken rule and use their common sense to determine if the end justified the means. In this case, I think any panel in the country would rule not to fire this guy, and most likely give him some recognition. It's actually running scared from the legal system to set up a zero tolerance rule that you can quote when you have something bad happen. Then you don't have to be second guessed on your response, even if the response is morally wrong.

Tex he robbed 30 other places and didn't kill why would he start then????

I would bet that Autozones insurance carrier is behind that policy, as it is in most instances. And all you need is one violation and they drop you like a rock.

Tex we know you are getting old...are you sure you didn't post one minute earlier and just forgot???

Update: I went back to the FB page to see if the other guy responded to my note and couldn't find it. Then I noticed that the page had gone from 1200 "Likes" to 2800 "Likes" in the past 3 hours. I am way down the page somewhere. The Huff Post article seems to have attracted some attention.

Here's a "small world" moment. I went to the facebook boycott page linked at the bottom of the ariticle to put my two cents in. One of the most recent posts on that page was from somone with my exact name -- and it had been done one minute earlier. What are the odds that two people with the same name would find their way to that boycott page within one minute?? Wow.

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